Strollers for transporting young children are commercially available in many styles and configurations. Strollers are normally configurable in an operative position in which the child is placed on a seat forming part of the stroller to be transported from one place to another by a caregiver pushing the stroller manually, and in a compact storage configuration in which the stroller is folded into a position in which the frame is collapsed and is unusable for the normal function of transporting young children until the stroller is returned to the operative position. These strollers can be folded from the operative configuration into the storage configuration in a number of different ways to achieve a storable size for the stroller frame.
Known commercially available strollers can be very difficult to fold into the storage configuration. Many times, the caregiver needs to fold the stroller from the operative configuration into the storage configuration while holding the baby that was being transported in the stroller. To affect the folding of the stroller, the frame components are pivotally connected to one another and a latch mechanism that locks the frame members into an expanded configuration corresponding to the transport position. The latch mechanism is operatively controlled by a latch release apparatus that is often located near the center of the steering handle. The release mechanism can typically be activated using one hand, which is often referred to as a One Hand Fold Mechanism in the industry. Even with the one hand fold release mechanism located at a convenient location and being able to be activated by one hand, the person trying to collapse the stroller into the storage position will normally need to use his or her other hand to move the frame components and cause the stroller frame to fold into the storage position.
Complicating the folding of the stroller frame into a compact storage configuration, particularly when the caregiver is not yet familiar with the structure of the stroller, the different manufacturers and models of strollers utilize many different means of folding and unique folding geometries such that it is not always easy to understand how the stroller frame is to fold or even which direction the frame actually folds. For instance, some strollers fold by moving the steering handle up and toward the front of the stroller and other strollers fold by moving the steering handle down and toward the rear of the stroller. Many times, when a new user interacts with their stroller for the first time, they can activate the one hand release mechanism but then do not know which way to move the handle to initiate the folding process. Thus, folding the stroller is typically done by trial and error and usually requires the use of two hands.
One Hand Fold Mechanisms will typically provide an actuator that provides the caregiver with a large mechanical advantage when initiating the folding process. This extra leverage requires less grip force from the caregiver and, therefore, makes the activation of the folding process easier to accomplish. Additionally, a secondary lock mechanism is desirable to ensure that the folding mechanism remains deactivated until the caregiver consciously decides to activate it using two separate and distinct motions relating to the activation of the release mechanism. Even when the release mechanism and the secondary lock mechanism are provided for the folding apparatus of a stroller, an additional anti-fold latch corresponding to the presence of the child within the structure of the stroller can be desired to prevent the unintentional actuation of the folding apparatus whenever the child is still seated within the stroller.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,116, issued on Mar. 25, 1975, to Gianluca Perego, a spring mechanism is utilized to bias the movement of a portion of the stroller toward a collapsed position; however, the entire collapsing of the stroller from the operative position to the storage position is not accomplished through this spring biasing mechanism. An auxiliary safety structure is disclosed for a child's stroller in U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,116, granted to Shum Chen on Apr. 21, 1992, whereby a spring-loaded block preventing the pivotal movement of the stroller frame is overcome by the weight of a child seated in the stroller to prevent the stroller from being collapsed when the child is seated in the stroller. Once the child is lifted out of the stroller seat, the spring releases the block from engagement with the corresponding frame member to allow pivotal movement thereof into the collapsed storage position. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,783, issued on Apr. 6, 2004, to Wayne Hanson, et al, a gas spring is utilized to lock the positions of pivotally connected stroller frame members so that the selected height of the seat can be secured.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved stroller folding mechanism that will normally be operable through manipulation of the release mechanism whenever the child is not seated within the stroller structure.